Chicago Police Kill Allegedly Unarmed Black Teenager

The police-involved killing of a Chicago teenager has unleashed a wave of protests in that city, with locals questioning the official version of events.

Cynthia Lane (center) sobbed over the death of her son Roshad.

Chicago police officers shot and killed teenager Roshad McIntosh on Aug. 24 after he attempted to flee police who were investigating a report of armed men in the city’s Lawndale neighborhood.

Though police claim McIntosh was armed, area residents expressed skepticism about the police’s version of events.

Relatives, neighbors, and community members responded to McIntosh’s death with demonstrations on Au
g. 25 and Aug. 27, according to DNAinfo Chicago and The Chicago Tribune, respectively.

Protesters claimed that McIntosh was unarmed, and that he was surrendering with his hands in the air when he was shot, according to DNAinfo Chicago—a claim with obvious parallels to the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

Hundreds March over Chicago Police Shooting.

Police said officers were responding to a report of armed men, and were questioning a group when McIntosh attempted to run away. Police said that McIntosh had a gun, which he pointed at an officer who had chased him into a gangway. Police claimed investigators recovered a weapon at the scene.

DNAinfo Chicago quoted a relative of McIntosh, Thomas Patterson, who was present the day McInto sh was shot and whose statement to the news outlet demonstrates the mistrust that has built up between the community and the police, not only in Chicago and Ferguson, but in Black communities throughout the United States.

“The police pulled up and jumped out,” said Patterson. “They put guns on everybody out there, ‘Get on the ground, get on the ground.’ I couldn’t see what was happening in the back. They say he had a gun, I don’t think so.”

The shooting is under investigation by Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority.